Ted Roof analyzes Oklahoma's defensive play in spring game

Kyler Murray may have been the center of attention for Oklahoma‘s Red vs. White spring game, but so was their defense, which made enough plays to pull out the victory for the White team on Saturday.

Defensive coordinator Ted Roof is in the midst of his second season with the Sooners and gave his thoughts on the performance of his defense after the game.

“I think today was another step for us. We made some improvement, we never make enough, we never have, we never will no matter what year, what school, whatever,” Roof smiled and said. “But they’ve done a great job and we’ve come a long way, we’ve got a ways to go but I’m really proud of them and thought today we took another step.”

There’s definitely room for improvement for Oklahoma’s defense, which gave up the second most points and yards per game in the Big 12 conference last season. Their defense getting the better of the offense in front of 54,409 in attendance in Norman is surely a step in the right direction, and so was the Sooners’ ability to showcase their roster from the very top to the bottom.

“And it was really cool because everybody got a chance to play today, because during the practices we got some guys that don’t get a whole lot of reps. And for them to have a chance to get in today, that’s always fun to see,” Roof said. “And you saw our sideline get excited when those guys got opportunities as well.”

The White team’s 84-82 came from a scoring system that awarded points to the defense for making plays like pass breaks up and sacks or fourth down stops. Freshman early enrollee Peyton Bowen earned his team seven points for a first-quarter interception on a deep pass attempt by Dillon Gabriel.

Roof spoke about the impressive play and the importance of big plays in general, something that Sooner fans will hope to see more of from Oklahoma’s defense this upcoming season.

“We had some big plays, and you’re talking about the interception with Peyton, he was in phase, he did a great job locating the ball, and he went up and high pointed it and made the pick. Football’s such a game of inches with a small margin for error and when you go up and make those plays, as not making them, that’s a big difference in a game, a season, a whole deal. So pleased with him, he’s had a great spring and excited to be taking the next step and moving forward.